AN: Writer's block sucks. Sorry it took so long with getting this chapter out. Got to a certain point and just slammed up against a wall at terminal velocity. Not to mention that work has been heavy lately. All I wanted to do after getting done for the day was just rest and sleep.
Things will start happening now. This chapter is the official start of the protection committee arc. Just for references sake, this fic has gotten over 2500 views now with 25 favs and 33 follows. The first chapter has a third of those views almost. I'm guessing some people consider my OC to be overpowered or something. He's just highly skilled, as most of you have noticed. Moka could easily wipe the floor with him if she wanted to. Once this arc is finished you all will have a better idea why Damien is the way that he is. But that's it really, just an idea of why. His situation is pretty damn complicated if you ask me.
Don't be afraid to PM me or *gasp* take the time to write a review and let me know what you think. I'm surprisingly easy to talk to despite the stereotypical view most have on my chosen occupation.
I'm keeping a progress status of this story on my profile now. So if you want to keep up to date on my progress you can check it out on my profile bio. Every time I make progress I'll update my bio.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rosario+Vampire. That right belongs to Akihisa Ikeda. The only thing I claim ownership of are any OC's that I created for the purposes of this fanfiction.
Chapter 10: Spiteful fox
Kurumu was sleeping peacefully as the first rays of light began peeking through the window. Stirring as the light finally reached her, she took in a deep breath and stretched as she felt around for Damien beside her. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Kurumu opened them to the distinct sight of an empty spot next to her.
"Huh? Where'd Damien go?" Kurumu said as she pushed herself up. The covers slid off of her to reveal the disheveled state of her sleepwear. One strap of her camisole had slid off her shoulder to the point of nearly revealing one of her large breasts. "I wanted to give Damien a sexy wake up surprise." She pouted out.
Behind Damien's manor
Damien kneeled behind his new homes back patio as he performed his usual morning meditation ritual. He was dressed in a muscle shirt and training shorts as his coat was unnecessary at the moment. His goal for this morning, however, was decidedly different than what it usually was. Something pivotal had happened to him, and he could feel it within himself. It felt as if an all consuming darkness sat just beyond his awareness. It was an unknown. And Damien always prepared himself to handle any unknowns if at all possible.
Focusing on his remembered sensations of the event, Damien tried pulling forth the darkness. And, as he thought, it was a powerful feeling. As he stated the previous night to Kurumu, anger is a difficult emotion to control. Damien slowly and carefully drew out the darkness. Feeling out the effect his anger had on him, he focused on how to keep it under control. His former martial arts masters had always instilled that control of oneself is important to keeping his focus sharp. Damien could not afford to lose control like he had the day prior. There's no telling what kind of damage he could do while in a blind rage.
Slowly coming out of the back door of the manor, Kurumu watched her mate of fate as he meditated. 'I can feel him trying to figure out how to control that new power of his.' Quietly walking over and kneeling down in front of him, she reached through their bond to subtly help Damien.
Focused as he was, Damien didn't notice Kurumu until he felt her influence on his control. Opening his eyes, he took note that she was knelt down in front of him with a small smile adorning her face. Kurumu was wearing a house robe that barely went down to mid thigh and was mostly open in the front. Subconsciously, his vision zeroed in on her exposed cleavage and silky smooth legs as a tingling sensation went through him. The smile on Kurumu's face widened before opening her eyes. "Mmmm, I can feel that you know."
"Guh uh…!" Shaking his head, Damien cleared his throat before speaking. "What was it that you felt just now?"
Leaning forward and squeezing her bust together for emphasis while looking into his eyes, Kurumu said. "Your desire for me. It feels soooo good to be wanted by you."
"I… uh…" Damien looked away for a moment before looking back into her eyes. "I believe I need your help in learning how to control this new power of mine."
Kurumu pouted at his changing of the subject before giving him a playful look as she replied. "Ok! I'll help on one condition."
"And that would be?" Damien said as he raised an eyebrow in question.
Instead of answering, Kurumu slid over next to him and intertwined her fingers with his left hand as she looked up to him. "Let me be the one in control for now while you feel out what I do." Damien gave her a simple nod as he settled back into a meditative state.
It was far easier now for Damien to reach for the anger within him. Kurumu was carefully guiding his heart and shielding him from the worst of what his anger could do. True to her word, Kurumu was keeping his anger in check as he observed his bonded succubus work her magic. "Ok, now you try on your own." Kurumu said as she pulled away from him.
This went on back and forth for around half an hour before Damien's black flames erupted from his limbs. "WHOA! Holy fuck that's scary as hell!" Kurumu nearly shouted as Damien's power startled her. "Are you ok?" She asked as she felt his power wafting over her.
Taking a deep breath, Damien replied with a demonic tint to his voice. "This is… new… to say the least." Opening his eyes, he looked over himself. His arms were covered in black armored plates that looked as though they were a part of himself. The elbow had a short but deadly looking spike. His feet, he noticed, had short talon like claws adorning his toes. The knee guards had a short bladed edge to them as well. "We'll work more on this later. Come, let's go back inside and get ready for the day."
Newspaper club room
Since classes were not being held for the day, the newspaper club had gathered early and started work on finishing their latest edition. Ms. Nekonome and Damien were idly chatting and speaking about current events with the faculty while the gathered club members worked.
"Shizuka? Has an event like this happened at the academy before?" Damien asked in reference to Nagare Kano's actions.
Tapping her chin in thought, Shizuka replied. "Not this bad though. If the number of victims you told me there are is true, then this is the worst case we've ever had." Her hair drooped like a cats' ears would as she looked down. "I feel bad for those girls. It's our job as teachers to protect them from things like this you know."
"What do you think the headmaster will do in terms of punishing Mr. Kano?"
Perking back up a bit, Shizuka spoke up cheerfully. "Oh he'll more than likely banish him from ever going to the human world in the future. You've already given him a lasting physical punishment. Those gas stalks of his will take years to grow back, and even then they won't be the same. Not to mention those scars left from your claws will never heal right. So he'll have a permanent reminder of why it's bad to do what he did."
Damien nodded as he looked over the hard working group in the room with them. "I hope those girls are able to get over this with my help."
Darkened room
"Why have they been allowed to reform and print this… filth… once again?" A blonde young man with vulpine features spat as he looked over the school paper.
"We wanted to force them to stop at the release of each paper, but that psychology assistant was there with them every time. You told us to avoid him if we were able to." A teenage girl with dark hair replied.
"And for good reason. He has authority over any of you and even the teachers. But this! No, I will not stand for this blatant rebellion against my law! I am the law here at the academy." He crumpled the paper in his hands before it burst into flames.
The next day. Path to the academy
Damien and Kurumu had gotten ready for the day and found themselves waiting for their friends to meet them along the path. Damien himself was kneeling as he usually would while Kurumu had taken up the spot next to him. She was leaning up against him while he performed his usual mental exercises with his inner eye.
Damien was interrupted in his current task by the soft giggling of Kurumu. Opening his eyes, he noticed her looking down the path towards the dorms. Following her gaze, he spotted Tsukune and Moka looking into each others eyes.
"Oh Moka." Tsukune said in a dreamy voice.
"Tsukune." Moka replied in the same tone.
"Oh Moka."
"Tsukune."
"Oh Moka."
"You smell good…" Moka said as she moved closer.
"Oh Mo… huh? Wait Moka!" Tsukune blurted out as Moka latched onto his neck.
"So close, but so far, lover boy." Kurumu softly giggled at the scene that played out.
"Yes, quite." Damien commented.
Yukari and Mizore joined the group of friends shortly after. "Yukari? Would you mind lending me your magical expertise?" Damien asked.
"Ok sure! What do you need help with?" Yukari cheerfully accepted.
Damien turned to look at Kurumu, gesturing for her to explain. "Something happened when we were sleeping the other night. These runic symbols appeared on Damien's chest while he was sleeping." She pointed to the runes that covered his belt buckle.
"Hmmm, ok. What can you tell me about how they looked?" Yukari questioned.
"Well, they were right over the top of his heart. And they were set up in eight circles around each other. The three in the middle were much dimmer than the rest of them." Kurumu said as she drew out circles on Damien's chest were they would be.
Yukari's face scrunched in thought as she mulled the information over in her head. "Well, considering what's happened to Damien lately, they've got to be seals of some kind. Damien, have you had any other events happen where you suddenly got stronger or something like that?"
Tilting his head as he remembered the other two events in question, Damien replied. "I believe so, yes. When I received this coat was the first instance. The second is when myself and Kurumu first met. And the third was two days ago when we encountered Nagare Kano."
"That explains the three innermost circles being dimmer then. But why do you have so many seals placed on you? Eight seems like it'd be overkill if you ask me. Moka only needs just the one to keep her power in check." Yukari stated as she thought on Damien's new sealed status.
"Well, maybe he's just really powerful or something?" Tsukune mused aloud as Mizore looked over Damien's form.
Shrugging, Yukari said. "Maybe. Only way to find out is for me to investigate the seals myself. It'll take me a few days to get what I need to set up the proper ritual for that. I'll let you know when I'm ready to help you figure this out."
Nodding to Yukari, Damien and Kurumu turned and began walking towards the academy.
Headmasters office
"Welcome, my young Damien. What brings you here today?" The headmaster called out as Damien entered the room.
Damien stared at him for several moments before he spoke. "You already know, don't you?"
Creepy laughter and a widening of his grin were Damien's answer at first. "This is my world after all, Damien. I'm aware of everything that goes on at my humble academy."
"Agreed." Damien removed his coat before continuing. "Now then, what can you tell me about this?" He brought forth the black armor and black flames that covered his limbs.
Tenmei Mikogami watched as Damien's malevolent darkness washed over the room. Laughing in his creepy manner for several seconds, he answered. "So… it's finally come to this point has it? Be careful with those black flames of yours. They tend to consume everything they touch. No matter what it is."
Damien watched the headmasters' reaction to his transformation carefully. He wasn't surprised at all at how the headmaster gave nothing away even though he was laughing. "You aren't going to tell me anything else now, are you?"
Steepling his fingers in front of him, the headmaster grinned as he kept silent.
"Very well then." Damien took a deep breath as he dismissed his armored state. "Do you need anything else from me?"
"No, my young Damien. Keep watching over the children here like you have been."
Nodding, Damien put his coat back on before he left the room.
"Things are progressing… quite nicely." The aging kishin thought aloud as he began laughing in a dark manner.
End of classes for the day
The members of the newspaper club were currently finishing up printing and preparing their latest edition of the academy's newspaper. Ms. Nekonome was there with them as she fiddled with something at her podium.
"Hey, Ms. Nekonome? Do you know where Damien is?" The bluenette succubus asked her homeroom teacher.
Looking up, Shizuka put a finger to her chin before she replied. "Oh, he's been busy all day interviewing the girls that Mr. Kano had taken advantage of. He's probably working on making a full report on his findings. Considering how good he is at his job, he should be done soon."
"Come on boobs McKenzie. Let's finish up so we can get our paper out to our adoring fans." Gin said as he put a stack of papers in a box.
Kurumu gave Gin an annoyed look before she got back to putting the papers in the proper order.
In front of the academy
As per usual, the school paper was quite popular with the male students of the academy. That was more than likely due to the fact that there were three beautiful girls and one cute little witch handing them out. Tsukune was doing his part as well while Gin sat back and watched over his club.
"Thank you for your patronage!" Moka called out after handing out another handful of papers.
"I got a paper from Moka Akashiya!" One male student called out. "I'm never throwing this out!"
Moka laughed nervously at that as she looked over to a down looking Kurumu. "Hey, Kurumu? You look kinda down?"
Pouting a bit, Kurumu answered. "I know. This is the first time that Damien hasn't been here with us as we handed out the paper that we all worked on."
"Well, at least we know that he takes his job seriously. All those girls that that slug freak had taken advantage of need his help for now." Yukari added.
An ominous aura permeated the air as the crowd began to part near the back. Gin looked up at the familiar feeling as he hastily got to his feet and strode to stand in front of his club defensively.
Infirmary ward. Damien's office
Finishing up organizing and filing away all of the interviews he had done, Damien nodded to himself. "With time, all of those girls should recover well. Mr. Kano may have been ruthless in his perverted pursuit of his victims, but he never really did anything physical to them. It seems that being interrupted and denied in his goal pushed him to act out. I'll be watching him carefully in the future to make sure that there are no relapses in his behavior."
Rising from his desk, he walked over to his coat and stopped as he reached for it. Damien walked over to the window and opened it to look out and found himself looking at Tsukune and Kurumu walking together and holding boxes of the clubs' paper. "Curious…" He softly said to himself before his head snapped to the left. A low growl escaped his throat as he knew who it was that he felt just now.
Near the incinerator. With Tsukune and Kurumu
Tsukune could literally feel the emotions that were flowing from Kurumu next to him as they walked to the incinerator.
"Tsukune? I… I can't do this. I won't just burn and throw away all of our hard work. We all worked on this together. It just doesn't feel right." Kurumu spoke with a voice full of emotion. "You feel the same way, don't you?"
Sighing as his shoulders sagged, Tsukune replied. "I know. It's just not right. But you heard Gin. We have to do this or bad things can happen to all of us. That Kuyo guy was really scary."
Kurumu's grip on her box tightened as she made up her mind. "NO! We'll save what's left of our paper and hand them out later. I won't let them get their way. Damien will sort this out for us. I just know he will."
Something slapped against the box she was holding in the next moment and yanked it out of her grasp. "Well, looks like you pathetic weaklings can't listen to your betters!" Kurumu and Tsukune looked over to the source of the sudden interruption to see a dark haired girl dressed in the female version of the PSC uniform. They both had looks of shock on their face before Kurumu's shifted to a cocky smirk as her posture relaxed somewhat.
"I'LL WIPE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE IF YOU DON'T BEG FOR FORGIVENESS RIGHT NOW!" Keito shouted before she was suddenly face to chest with the glaring visage of Damien Lassiter staring down at her.
Damien's sclera took on a crimson glow as he looked down at Keito. "You'll do what, exactly now?"
Keito stumbled back a couple steps before she regained her composure. "YOU! What are you doing here?!" Damien simply pointed up to an open window on the second floor of the building next to them without looking. Keito growled as she reached over and opened the hatch on the incinerator. Before she could even think to throw the box in her hands into the waiting flames, Damien grabbed her wrists with surprising strength and wretched the box out of her hands as he gave her a powerful kick to the gut. Keito managed to stay upright as she slid backwards for several meters.
Gripping at her ribs for a moment, Keito composed herself as she stood up. "You're certainly stronger than you look. No matter. I'm stronger, you just surprised me is all."
"Are you sure about that?" Damien nearly growled out as a dark and malevolent aura washed over the area. The next thing Keito saw were black flames engulfing Damien's limbs. "Now then. Shall we begin?"
Tsukune started backing away while Kurumu began rubbing her thighs together absentmindedly. "Come on, Kurumu! We should go get the others while we can! Damien may be strong, but he shouldn't have to do this all on his own."
"Huh…? Oh, right. Got a little distracted by the feel of Damien's power…" Kurumu somewhat sheepishly admitted as she turned to head off and find their friends.
Keito sneered as her prey was able escape. "Well, looks like I don't get to see how those two taste just yet. You'll just have to take their place for now." She arrogantly said.
"Hmpf, yet more evidence that the PSC needs to be restructured and temporarily disbanded." Damien said as he settled into a ready stance with his claws brandished.
"HOW DARE YOU! We are powerful, and that means we alone should dominate the weak of this world! The headmaster is foolish for thinking that humans and monsters can ever coexist peacefully." Keito spat out as spider legs sprouted from her abdomen. "Your compassion for the weak of this academy proves that you are soft and unworthy of the authority that you wield!"
"Might does not make right, little spider. If there's one lesson that I wish to impart upon you today is that that mindset will gain you too many enemies in life. My time spent in the human world has made that fact abundantly clear to me." Damien chastised the spider woman in front of him.
"Your time among those filthy creatures is more than enough reason to just simply kill you and remove their taint from this academy!" Keito shot out a length of her web towards Damien. Damien didn't dodge as he let his right forearm intercept the webbing. "Pathetic! I wonder how you're going to taste once I put you down… NNNGG! WHAT?!" Keito grunted out and stumbled forward slightly when Damien planted his clawed feet and pulled against her webbing.
"Weak, am I? You'll find that I'm not easy prey." Damien nearly growled out as he flared the black flames that lightly wafted from his arm and easily severed Keito's webbing. He bared his teeth as his face took on a sinister look. "You threatened Kurumu and my friend just now. That is not something that I can abide by. The PSC is supposed to defend this academy and its students, not use them for petty entertainment."
"Enough of this already. I'm going to enjoy removing your filth from our academy!" Keito spat out as she readied herself to pounce on her prey.
Damien tensed his legs in preparation to dodge Keito's first strike. True to form, Keito leapt with all the grace and speed of her species' namesake. He was able to dodge easily enough, but his leap took him closer to the trees next to the path they were on. The spider woman smirked as she thought he was making things easier on her to trap him. Contrary to what she was thinking, Damien purposely gave her a supposed advantage to lure her into a false sense of superiority.
With surprising flexibility in his movements, Damien gracefully dodged each of Keito's successive attacks. His last leap had him back flip up to a tree and dig the claws of his hands and feet into the thick trunk as he clung to it upside down. "STAY STILL AND DIE LIKE A REAL MONSTER!" The spider woman shouted as she chased her prey.
Damien merely tilted his head in a taunting manner as Keito glared at him. "Make me."
Keito leapt straight at him once again in rage. This time though, instead of dodging as he had before, Damien used his arms and legs to leap towards her and just above the spiders' path. Twisting in mid air as he passed over her, Damien delivered a powerful downward kick to Keito's back. She was launched towards the ground and barely managed to catch herself before she impacted the dirt. Her numerous spider legs dug a path as she halted her momentum.
"You certainly pack a punch, but you'll need more than that to take me down!" Keito taunted as she dusted herself off.
"Yes, I agree." Damien simply said as he reached behind his back and pulled out his blades. To his surprise, the black runes that covered them flared as his black flames covered and extended the reach of his blades with an ethereal darkness. "Hmmm… interesting." Giving his left blade a test swing, it cleanly and effortlessly cut through the two foot wide tree trunk next to him.
Keito was obviously taken aback as she took on a more guarded stance. "Just like those vial humans… you have to use tools to even the playing field!" Keito ground out as her supposed prey proved to have far more bite than she anticipated.
"Having second thoughts, are we?" Damien taunted as he took notice of her hesitation.
"FUCK YOU!" Shouted the spider woman as she steeled her resolve. "I'll prove that monsters are superior to your disgusting human loving ways."
Deciding to take the initiative, Damien dashed forward to gauge Keito's reaction time. The claws of his feet left deep marks in the ground as they dug in with each successive powerful pump of his leg muscles. Keito was able to react fast enough to dodge the horizontal swipe of Damien's blade. The shriek that it released as it sliced through the air sent shivers down Keito's spine despite the rage she was in. It was as if the ethereal darkness that covered his blades screamed out for her very soul.
'DAMMIT! I can't get close to him without getting sliced apart! Those black flames of his make it nearly impossible to trap him in my webs! At least I'm fast enough to keep my distance from him. Kuyo needs to know about this.' Keito thought as her fight with Damien escalated from his recent display.
"What's the matter, little spider? I thought you were going to prove your superiority over me." Damien taunted as his stance relaxed somewhat from Keito's very visible hesitance.
"It's obvious that I'm not a good match for you. I can't trap you and I can't get close unless I want to lose something." Keito scoffed as the sound of running footsteps hit her ears. "I've had enough of this farce. I'm letting you off easy for now. We'll be back for our pound of flesh later."
Damien watched as the spider woman disappeared off into the forest. Turning his head, he watched as his friends stopped at the sight of his armored form still holding his blades.
"Whoa?! Anyone else creeped out by the feeling those things are giving off?" Yukari blurted out as they came to a stop not too far away.
Raising the right blade in front of his face so that he could inspect it further, Damien said. "Hmm, how would you describe what you're feeling as you look at the way they are now?"
"Um… just really creepy. Like they're softly whispering nothing but death and pain." Yukari shakily provided for the group.
Nodding at her brief description, Damien calmed himself and dismissed his black armored state. "This is troublesome. The PSC will most definitely target one of us soon. The one that we have to worry about most is Kuyo. He's a yoko, a very powerful monster almost on par with vampires." He said as he placed his ulak's back into their sheath on his lower back.
"YAHOO! I knew you could do it Damien!" Kurumu happily cheered as she darted forward to glomp onto him. She locked her eyes onto his own before she impacted for maximum effect.
"Oomf…!" Damien managed as they hit the dirt.
Path back to the dorms
The group of friends were making their way back to the dorms to end the days activities. "This sucks!" Kurumu wailed as the current situation involving the PSC hit her.
"Who do they think they are trying to tell us that we can't write a simple school paper?!" Yukari added in indignation.
Sighing at the situation, Tsukune voiced his own frustrations as well. "Aren't the PSC supposed to protect the students of the academy? Why are they being allowed to act like yakuza of all things?"
"The headmaster himself has his own issues concerning their activities. I've been watching them closely, and your description of them acting like yakuza isn't far off. They harass the students and even demand protection money in cases. If someone even remotely defies them they imprison them in their dungeon. I've yet to visit that location myself at the moment." Damien informed them of his observations of the PSC.
"Well why isn't the headmaster doing anything about them then?" Moka asked for the group.
Sighing as his frustration over the situation hit him, Damien continued. "He knows what's going on. What I'm not sure of is why he hasn't done anything about them yet. The headmaster seems to have chosen to stay out of this. For what reason though, I'm not sure as of yet."
"What do you suggest we do for now then?" Mizore stoically said.
Stopping as he looked over the group around him, Damien nodded before he spoke. "For now, you all will be staying at the student dorms located at my compound. That way I can make sure that no one makes a move on any of you while classes are out of session. While classes are being held I'll make sure that I'm within the general area so that I can keep all of you relatively safe."
Tsukune huffed a laugh devoid of mirth as he commented. "The first students to use your temporary dorms, and we don't have any glaring issues other than having targets on our backs." He sighed in resignation after he finished.
"Don't worry, Tsukune. I'm sure Damien will get this all sorted out for us." Moka did her best to reassure her friend.
Darkened office at the PSC headquarters
"So… tell me, Keito. How exactly did you lose to a bunch of weaklings?" Kuyo nearly spat as he questioned his subordinate on her failure.
Cringing slightly, Keito shakily answered. "I-it was that damned psychology assistant. He may not have been physically stronger than me, but his powers were a near perfect counter to my webs."
Growling in anger, Kuyo retorted. "I don't want excuses, Keito! Only results! Now, tell me. What were these oh so 'perfect counter' powers of his that caused you to fail me?"
Wincing at his tone, Keito explained what she saw. "He covered his limbs in a black armor that was roiling with black flames. His eyes had a crimson glow to them as well. I tried to trap him with my webs, but he simply flared his flames and severed them easily."
Kuyo's anger seemed to deflate slightly at her mention of black flames. "Black flames…"
"Kuyo, sir? What's wrong?" Keito asked with hesitation.
He didn't reply as he reached to a lower drawer of his desk and pulled out an ancient looking thick book. Leafing through the pages for several minutes, Kuyo stopped as he found what he was looking for. A sinister grin slowly spread across his face as he began quietly laughing to himself. Looking back up to a confused looking Keito, Kuyo elaborated on his findings. "Tell me, Keito. What did Damien Lassiter smell like to you?"
Blinking several times, Keito took a moment before she replied. "Um… he smelled like a human does for the most part. But that doesn't make sense though. He's far too strong to be a human, not to mention those black flames of his."
Kuyo began laughing darkly to himself before he burst into laughter and slamming his book shut. The action startled Keito slightly before he said one last thing. "He's an acolyte."
AN: Cliffhanger technique, somewhat executed? I LIIIIIIIIVE! Man I feel bad about taking so long to get this chapter out to all of you. But hey, my excuse is just me working a ton the last couple months. Man I was just worn out after getting done each day. Even on the days I didn't do much, I was still tired from all the driving I had been doing. I had to have driven at least 20,000 miles the last couple months. Ah well, I finally had some free time lately to finish things up. So… what does everybody think? Anybody got any ideas on what Kuyo thinks he knows? Well, I'm gonna get started on the next chapter and hopefully finish it sooner than nearly 3 months. Argh! That was painful not being able to continue once writers block hit.
For now, I ride my 18 wheeled stallion.